500 Year Old Love
by miranran
Summary: Kii was born into the slowly shrinking world of demons, and after her parents die, they will that she live with Kagome's mother. What will she discover about the Higurashi family? What will she discover about herself?
1. Final Goodbye

PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I'm so sorry to those of you who were reading my story, then noticed that I had taken it down. I forgot my disclaimer(do i need one?) and as I read over it, I started typing in stuff, editing things and, well...TA DAH! I came up with this. I like it better than the first one, and it's much longer, and it's also more informative! So, please don't hate me, and please review it (again for those of you who actually did.)

Enjoy!

Audaciousness

Chapter one: Final Good Bye

I sat in the front of the crowded room, feeling almost nothing. Almost. I was actually angry in some dimension that I had left behind after my parents passed away. Angry at the man at the podium, delivering the eulogy, highlighting everything that everyone already knew. They were kind, they were smart, my mom wore the pants in the family, my daddy was a great cook. Nothing that really meant anything to me, but was 'touching' to everybody else. Angry that there was no real emotion to it, it was as though he was talking about the recent drop in sales at his business, or what he ate for breakfast. I could feel my claws cutting into my palm, pulling my mind from the place it was in. I could feel my heart racing, the blood pumping unnaturally fast through my veins.

That is the reason why, I suppose, that demons didn't allow themselves to feel emotions. Emotions were almost as dangerous as drugs, or a drunk driver. They were unpredictable, and there was nothing a demon hated more than unpredictability. I think my parents were the only exception to this rule. If everyone thought that the fact that they really, honestly, truly and freely loved each other was shocking, the fact that their best friends were a human couple would stop their hearts. For those who had hearts anyways.

I turned and looked to the back of the service room and spied Akitsu. Akitsu was the only person in the room with tears in her eyes. Akitsu and my mother had been best friends for a very long time before I was born, but unfortunately, they were separated when my mom found out she was a demon, and a high ranked demon at that. My mom was abandon as a child, but taken in and raised by a wonderful human family, which was probably the reason she was such a wonderful mother. She and Akitsu practically grew up together. When my mom turned eighteen, she found out she was a demon, and had to distance herself from the people she loved the most to gain what was rightfully hers. They still wrote, and talked, but they couldn't be together personally, otherwise she would lose all of her parents lands and my mom wasn't about to let that happen. It wasn't until my mom got married that Akitsu and my mother saw each other again. My dad could care less about societies rules, and could afford not to care. The only reason why her children and I never met was because Akitsu thought that her children would bring light to the fact that demons still existed, and I was a bit of a show off...you do the math.

I sat back in my chair and forced myself not to look at the coffins. I could feel the emotions taking over, and I fought to control myself. I wiped the tears and looked to the podium, forcing my emotions into a bottle. I relaxed into my chair, and sighed heavily. One thing that wasn't good about my parents was that we were emotionally unstable, and not in the crazy way.

The speaker-I had no clue who he was-finished, so, while everyone went to pay their last respects, I walked to the back of the room, toward the person who really cared, toward the person who wasn't here to make appearances, but really wanted to be here. The person who was taking me in. It wasn't that I didn't have other family, or that no one else would take me in, it was the fact that it was in my parents' will. I smiled a little as I approached. Akitsu stood and bowed deeply. I bowed back, but only a little. I was a little startled when Akitsu took my hands, earning her a few puzzled looks from bystanders, which I pointedly ignored.

"How are you?" asked Akitsu, tears still bright in her eyes.

"As well as expected." I answered coolly and unemotionally. 'It's like when ever I talk about my parents I-' I broke the thought off and kept calm. The last thing I needed was to lose control. Akitsu's quizzical look was evidence enough that I didn't sound like my mothers child. Akitsu and I hadn't met until three days ago the day of my parents death. I had heard about her, but never met her. I frowned a little when a familiar pair of icy blue eyes floated into view. A pair of eyes I was tired of seeing, floating or not.

"Excuse me Akitsu." I said pulling my hands from hers and walking towards the entrance hall. I sat in one of the chairs and tried to shake the thoughts from my head listening to the silence of the room.

"Don't want to see your parents one last time before the coffin's close?" I mentally fought back a growl at the sound of the rough voice. Like the sound of thunder...bad storm kind of thunder.

"I lived with them, I picked out their clothes, and I brushed their hair before the were placed in the casket. I don't need to look at them anymore." I said lifting my eyes to meet those of the man with the voice of thunder. "How did you get in without an entourage?" I asked sitting back in my chair.

"Koga doesn't have to have an entourage all the time." He said sitting opposite me leaning back and smirking. He tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brow. "How ya feelin'?" I smiled sarcastically. That was the first time a demon other than my parents ever asked me how I felt about...anything. 'Maybe Koga isn't _that _much of a jerk.' I thought crossing my arms. 'But he is annoying.'

"I'm fine all things considered." He frowned causing the sides of his mouth to wrinkle a little. Koga was an elder, a demon who had lived for more than 500 years, and had helped the Great Leader to bring order to demon society. Koga governed the lands to the east, but, in his free time, he was an internationally famous rock star.

"How do you feel about living with humans?" he asked, leaning in towards me. I smiled a little yet again. No one had ever questioned my parents decision in their wills, seeing as how they were only second to the Great Leader. Or, at least my father was. My grand-father (who passed away before I was born) was the Great Leaders second in command and the person who started the Intercontinental Demon Society United-IDSU. The IDSU handled everything from communication to control of demon activities. Basically the demon police, but they know who you know, and they monitor every demon on the planet. Of course the human governments know, which is why only demons deal with demon problems. At least until it gets out of hand.

"I don't really mind it so much." I said shrugging my shoulders. "I'm just nervous is all."

"So, umm, I got you a birthday present, but-"

"It's ok." I said helping him through the awkwardness. Seeing as how my parents died the day after my birthday, all you can be is awkward when you mention it. He nodded and reached into his outside suit jacket pocket, then, standing, he began reaching around in the back pocket of his jeans. Then he reached into his shiny black, Italian, shoes, then paused a moment in thought, scratching the back of his head, above the long brown hair in his low ponytail.

"Ah!" He exclaimed and reached into the inside of his jacket. He pulled out a long black box, and handed it to me. I raised an eyebrow then looked at him.

"What is it?" I asked suspiciously. His hand immediately went to the back of his head-he was nervous.

"Just open it already." He said sitting down across from me. I took my gaze from him to the box. I had no idea what was in the box. I didn't know Koga that well, and he didn't know me. We met when I was like 16. It was my birthday, so I got to go back stage, we met, blah, blah, blah. It was only lately that I had begun to see him a lot, and it was kinda annoying. A lot of other demon males had started to do it too. I think they only want me for my money, but Koga is the only one who knew when my birthday was, (not to mention remembered it) and asked me about my feelings, so I guess I can trust him.

I opened the box, and my eyes widened a little at what I saw. It was a silver chain link bracelet with a bunch of little charms on it. Koga got up and sat next to me, looking at the charms excitedly.

"See the guitar? That stands for me. And the tiara, that stands for you. The two birds, those are your parents. The tiny skull is for Ginta, he practically begged to have his own, and Hakkaku-"

"You picked this out?" I asked, genuinely shocked. He nodded slightly, and I hugged him, sniffling a little. "Thank you so much." I said as he hugged me back.

"Your welcome." he said after a while, pulling away, smiling shyly. I almost laughed. Almost.

* * *

After we left, and made it to the cemetery, it was all I could do to keep from falling to the ground and crying my eyes out. At this point, I couldn't hold back the tears, but I had to remember to keep my emotions in check. I looked around for a familiar face, but couldn't find one. I clutched Akitsu's hand a little tighter, and she did the same in return. A signal that meant the world to me. It meant that I wasn't alone. I groaned a little inside as the marble of the coffins' made one last show of beauty before it returned back to it's earthen home for all of eternity.

I looked to the top of the graves, the names of my parents glittering in the meager sunlight with the dew and rain from this morning. I could smell the rain, and obviously so could everybody else, they all had their umbrellas out, but not yet open. The thunder rumbled impatiently above me, and I shivered involuntarily. I looked around and behind me, trusting that my senses were correct. Someone was watching me, but from where, and why? I glanced around suspiciously one more time, and the sensation on my neck disappeared slowly. I shrugged my shoulders a little, shaking off the chill of the air.

"Ashes to ashes," said the priestess as she neared the end of her speech. "Dust to dust." She bowed and then turned toward me, gesturing the little bowl of dirt next to her. I nodded and took the bowl, pouring it's contents first on my mothers grave, then on my fathers. I looked then at the priestess. She nodded and took the bowl.

"May the dead rest in peace, and may the living be joyous to be alive. There is naught greater gift than life." The priestess then bowed again, and left, taking most of the chill out of the air. As her aura disappeared, the crowd began to leave as well. I felt a tiny pressure on my hand and turned to face Akitsu. She looked earnestly into my eyes, and, for a millionth of a second, she looked like my mother.

In that instant, my legs could no longer hold me up, my mind went blank, and my heart got really heavy. Then it hit me, hard.

"Their dead...it's really..." I could feel the tears before they were even there. I fell to my knees. "My mom...dad. Its...official," I looked up at Akitsu. "Isn't it?" I asked.

"Oh Kii...I'm so, so sorry." said Akitsu, kneeling with me. She wrapped her arms around me and I cried, I cried like a newborn baby, I cried like...like something that cries a lot, I don't know. Akitsu began to cry as well, and I hugged her back clutching at her jacket tightly, pulling her closer, hiding my face. 'Why the hell am I crying now?' I questioned myself, feeling the sorrow rising up the emotional ladder to hatred. I pulled Akitsu closer, and fought to gain control over myself. I listened to the sounds around me, silence, birds-

Thunder rumbled over head and my sense of smell returned to me. I released Akitsu and stood slowly, helping Akitsu stand up. She wiped her eyes and then led the way to her car. I sat in the front seat and sat back, waiting for her to start the engine and go. As soon as the engine roared to life, the rain began to fall a heavy sheet of clear distortion covering the windows of the car.

We finally arrived...home, and the rain was pouring harder than ever. I thought about my parents grave sites for a moment and was glad that the plots were under a tree. I shook the thoughts from my head and opened the car door, opening my umbrella at the same time. I closed the door and ran over to Akitsu's side as she exited the car. She thanked me, and opened up her own umbrella. Together we jogged up the stairs to the shrine.

As we got closer, it seemed to get colder. I was shivering by the time we were in the courtyard, but I had also discovered the source. A girl with dark brown hair and brown eyes about my age was standing on the walkway that surrounded her house, looking very worried, and when she saw us, very relieved. I followed Akitsu up to the girl, and she eyeballed me, the same way I was eyeballing her. 'How on earth did this girl get such a powerfully pure aura?' I thought as we all entered the house. Almost immediately, all aura's ceased and Kagome placed herself between me and her mother.

"You're a demon." she said narrowing her eyes.

"Astute observation, Higurashi." I said raising an eyebrow. I looked to Akitsu, who sighed heavily, fatigue written all over her face. "You're a priestess, aren't you?" I asked returning my eyes to the girl. She nodded." Well, now that that's taken care of, you can explain how you came to develop those powers without proper training," I said mock cheerfully. "And I can tell you about how I became a demon." I held out my hand. "Kii Naiya." (a/n: pronounced Key Nah-e-ah) She looked at my hand, then at me.

"Kagome." she said with venom. I lowered my hand slowly. 'It's going to be a long stay.' I thought as Akitsu frowned at her daughter.

"Alright, to the living room, we have some discussing to do." said Akitsu, walking into their family room. It was there I learned about Kagome being the reincarnation of a great priestess, and a little but powerful trinket called the jewel of four souls.

* * *

I led Kii up the stairs and then to her room, which was filled with the boxes and luggage she had decided to keep. I opened the door and flicked on the light, and turned to face my new house guest. She entered the room, dark gold hair flowing easily down to the middle of her back, sea blue eyes glittering in the light of the room. I pointed to the door to the left of the entrance as she plopped onto her bed.

"That is the bathroom." I pointed to the door to the right. "And that is your closet. The rest of your boxes are in there." I began to leave, then, I had an after thought. "Oh, and please, don't go into my room, and stay away from my cat, I don't think you guys would get along, all things considered." She looked up at me with a saddened amusement smirking slightly. 'Of all the types of demons, she had to be a dog demon. What is it with me and DOGS?' I asked myself. 'I'm a cat person!'

"I'll remember to keep that in mind." she said relaxing a little with a smirk still on her face. I felt a spark of annoyance, then anger.

"And make sure you clean up your messes, I don't clean up after animals." I said smartly, for the sole purpose of wiping that smirk off of her face. She rolled her eyes and laid back on the bed.

"Why do you insist on insulting me?" She said in a tired sort of way. Automatically, my anger blazed, causing my aura to cackle, but because of the sutras around the house, couldn't be sensed. All she did was roll over on to her side. "All I can say to that is if you try to purify me, there will be more people trying to kill you than me, and I pretty sure your family would go down with you." she said nonchalantly, closing her eyes.

"Are you threatening me?" I asked narrowing my eyes at her sleeping form. I had never tried to purify a full demon, except Sesshoumaru, but that never really worked, not that I couldn't try on her. 'What the hell am I thinking?' I asked myself.

"No, just stating facts." I clenched my fists, then left the room, angry at the fact that I was angry, and at the fact that she had gotten the best of me. I practically marched into my room, plopping on my bed in anger. 'Every action is angry when your angry.' I thought trying to cheer myself up. I laid back on my bed and looked up at the ceiling, anger calming, allowing me to see the mistakes I had made when I was dealing with Kii. I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands, then rolled over on to my side. 'And I have school tomorrow!' I thought angrily. 'At least I don't have to go to school with her the time being.' I cheered up a little at this, but still my thoughts were on the girl in the room next to mine.

'I can't believe she is even here after what she did too my mother.' I felt my fists clench, and I rolled over on my side, facing my room. 'Not only did she have my mother sit in the back of the room, but she wouldn't even let my mom do the eulogy! My mother was heartbroken for days over that. She sent a letter telling her she was passed over for someone 'more appropriate'. Who could be more appropriate than someone who knew them for over 20 years. That's a lot of friendship right there! I can't stand the society that she comes from, and I don't like her. She's just like the rest of them, arrogant and stuck up! The only reason she's even here is because of her parents wills.'

I sat up and stomped over to my desk and started on my homework. I looked at the clock. The numbers read seven thirty-five. I let out a frustrated sigh and began with math.

* * *

"Has she arrived?" asked a voice that echoed through the darkness of the room.

"Yes, my lord, but it seems she is having some problems with the girl." answered a voice with a slight growl.

"Just remember, we cannot contact her until she has returned." said the voice in the darkness smoothly. "You are dismissed."

"Yes my lord." answered the second voice gruffly.

* * *

P.S. I am working without spell check, so if you see any mistakes, PLEASE, tell me, I will correct them. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Only Kii.


	2. Rise and Shine

I awoke the next day, my headache from crying myself to sleep echoing through my brain. My vision was blurry, my eyes slightly swollen, my heart heavy. I tried to open my eyes again, but the blur was only made worse. I sighed and tried again. A blurry blob appeared and the fog in my freshly awoken brain couldn't resister what it was. I blinked a few more times, my eyes still covered in early morning phlegm. I rubbed my eyes one more good time and opened my eyes to-

"AAAAAAHHH!" I yelled, shooting up in my bed, causing the sleeping head to jerk up and scream as well, falling off of the bed.

"AAAAHHHH!" He yelled back, louder than expected from a head.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" I yelled, clutching my ears as the cry attacked my eardrums.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" he yelled again, the smell of fear rising from his body as I jumped across the bed and reached for him. "NOOOOOOO!" he cried as I grabbed him around the shoulders and covered his mouth, glaring in the mirror across from us at the little boy, Souta.

"What is wrong with you boy? What were you doing in my room!" I said angrily, careful not to grip him too hard, mindful of the fact that he was fragile compared to me. I sighed as the smell of his fear grew strong. "Don't scream." I said turning him around to face me. "I'm not gonna hurt you." I looked into his eyes, a mixture of shock, curiosity and fear looked back at me. I sat down before him and we were at eye level when he finally spoke.

"You started it. Why'd you scream like that?" he said trying to fight off his initial fear.

"Why were you in my room?" I asked for the second time, more sternly. He paused, looking embarrassed, unwilling to answer. "Well?" I prompted. He looked at his shoes.

"I was curious to see what you looked like. Kagome was talking about you this morning before she went to school and I'm home sick today so…" I shook my head and stood as he got the bravery to speak again. "Where did you get those tattoos?" he said quickly. 'Tattoos?' I thought frowning at him. "Please don't eat me!" he said kneeling into a ball at my feet. I laughed out loud and grabbed him by the back of his pajama shirt, lifting him to eye level. His eyes were watering and his nose was running a little all while he hung in the air, sniffling.

"I'm not going to eat you Souta." I said setting him stomach first on my bed. "And these aren't tattoos. They're demon markings."

"Demon markings? Why do you have them then?" He asked, his curiosity winning the battle against his fear for who got to talk. 'Not that I invite curiosity… but how could I not answer him? I almost traumatized him not to mention the fact that now we live together. Its best to get this out of the way now.'

"I have these markings to indicate my ranking in the Demon society." I said matter-of-factly.

"Wow! There's a Demon Society?" he said, his fear quelled by his newfound curiosity in my world and me. I frowned slightly. Then got really serious.

"If you tell anyone what I'm about to tell you I will have to kill you." I said smiling and ruffling his hair as he laughed his understanding.

"I swear I won't." He said placing his hand on his heart our moment of mock seriousness over.

"Well then, now that you know the rules, I will answer your question. Yes, there is a demon society."

"Cool… so what do those markings mean?" he asked pointing to the ones he could see.

"The number and color of the markings represent a demons ranking and can also signify the types of powers they have. For example, I have gold demon markings." I said showing him my wrists, enjoying his rapt attention. "The lighter the color, the higher the rank. The only exception is purple, which is the color of royalty."

"Like kings and queens in other countries," he said seriously, making it make sense for himself.

"Exactly." I said looking around my room full of boxes. I opened the closet, and there were more. "The gold coloring also can help you figure out what power a demon specializes in. I can manipulate metals and fire. Those with silver or grey markings can use the wind to their advantage. Red, purple and yellow represent poison, orange controls fire, green use plants, blue controls water and black is the color of darkness and shadows." Soutas eyes were wide with excitement.

"What about demons with no markings?" he asked his chin resting in his hands as he watched me unpack my things.

"They use powers that match their eye color for the most part."

"And half demons?" he said expectantly.

"They generally don't have particular strengths when it comes to elements, even though they are strong. They simply have heightened abilities and favor the element their eyes represent, although they rarely can use it." I said carefully. I'd only met a few half-demons in my lifetime, mostly because my mother allowed it. Father still had a negative outlook on half demons. Although he was kind to everyone, and everyone respected him, he still had his misgivings, especially when it came to his only child—a daughter to boot.

"Oh…" he said trailing off in his own thoughts for a moment. "Well what about the number?"

"Well the number is a representation of authority which, for the most part, demons don't pay attention to in terms of 'who's who'. Nowadays demons only look to marking in terms of mating."

"Ew." Souta said simply scrunching his nose to show his disgust.

"The more markings you have," I continued, ignoring him. "the more 'pure' your bloodline is. The most you can have is 10. I have 8, and from the number of markings a demon can have goes down in even numbers til you get to zero. Because the demon world is a bit more liberal than it used to be, markings generally go unnoticed. Except in the smaller circles of eights and tens. They are the richest of our society and are also the most rare. They feel like it's a scandal if a demon with eight markings marries a demon with four." I said a bit scornfully recalling the trials my mother had to go through at the hands of the eights and tens. If I hadn't been born with 8 I would have been treated the same as she, however, having 8 markings didn't spare me the trials of being from such a 'scandalous' family. A picture I had picked out of the box slipped and fell to the floor, distracting me from my thoughts.

"Kii, are you okay?"

"Wha-? Oh right. What were you saying?" I said hiding my hands from his view, wiping the blood off the hand that didn't have the picture in it onto an old shirt as the wounds healed. 'I really need to file these claws.' I thought as Souta spoke.

"What about demons with no markings? What happens?"

"Nothing, they just aren't treated like demons. They're treated like scum."

"You would know all about that wouldn't you?" sounded a voice from the doorway. I turned to look and there was Kagome, her icy stare on me.

"Yes, actually I would. My best friend was a demon with no markings." I replied coolly all the animation leaving my voice while I shooed Souta from my room. As Souta left Akitsu called for him, telling him to take his medicine.

"Okay mom!" He called back as he went down the hallway, mindful of my sensitive ears. I sat on the floor and continued unpacking the boxes, four already opened and put away. 'Time flies when you're having fun.' I thought sarcastically as the time dripped by while Kagome stood there.

"Well?" I asked her without looking up. "You gonna insult me some more?"

"No." she said. "I came… to apologize." She said, the words coming out painfully. "You are grieving and I shouldn't have treated you with such disrespect."

"You got that right." I said turning to look at her. Even her face wasn't genuine. "So if I weren't grieving, would you have apologized?" I asked evenly. She snorted before she could catch herself, then looked appalled by her actions. Then appalled by her response.

"No." she replied easily. I smiled, she frowned.

"Well then, don't be. I could honestly careless if you want to be mean to me." She looked at me confused by me. "I just don't like being disrespected." I glared. She got angry.

"I'm not normally like this! Ugh! You come here out of the blue, preaching about respect when you've been disrespectful since you've been here. You look down on us because we're human and we're not even worthy to be treated like the dirt beneath your feet. You disrespected my mother, who couldn't even say the eulogy at her best friends funeral, you've disrespected us by looking down on who we are and now you admit to disrespecting your best friend calling her scum. You full demons don't care about anyone but yourselves and keeping the 'scum' of the world beneath you. The truth is you're the real scum." She said her frustrations finally spent. As she stood there, her anger faded, her body relaxed.

"Other than me, what experience have you had with full demons?"

"Plenty." She replied spitefully.

"Sounds to me like you are basing what you know about me based on assumptions about demons from 500 years ago." I replied.

"Yeah, well it doesn't seem like they've changed much." She said crossing her arms.

"Well then you don't know much. Why don't you go ask your brother? He probably knows more about current demon practices than you do. Who are you to judge me, one who knows nothing of who I am and where I came from? You, who probably didn't even know about the existence of demons in the present time until I showed up two days ago. How dare you try and insinuate that my practices and my way of life is wrong and bad? You, who hasn't even had the decency to ask me a single question about anything you are accusing me of being."

"Well I can only assume- " she started, my voice silencing her.

"When you assume," I continued calmly. "You make an ass out of you and me. Otherwise we wouldn't even be having this embarrassing, juvenile conversation." Her mouth opened to respond, but no sound came out. She closed it, frowned, opened her mouth again then suddenly turned and closed the door. Then she went to her room. I sighed and sat, continuing my unpacking._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A door opened and the room flooded with light. Light steps could be heard as my blanket was tucked around my sleeping form. A weight sat on my bed and continued fussing with my blankets. A gentle motion moved my bangs from my face. I opened my eyes slowly, my hand grasping the fingers that brushed my fears away at night.

"Hey mom." I said looking up into her face.

"Hey honey. I'm sorry I woke you." She said smiling softly.

"No, its okay. I've tossing and turning. I feel… terrible." I said tears welling in my eyes. I fought them back though, and sat up. "Did you hear the argument that she and I had after I apologized for yesterday?" Mom sighed.

"Yes. I did." She replied. "Is that what's got you upset?" I thought about it before I answered.

"Not really, it just made me realize what I was doing… I've been taking my anger against the discrimination that InuYasha experienced as a child at the hands of other demons. I guess I forgot that humans were there to hate him as well as the demons. Its just," I continued my voice raising of its own accord. "I don't see how much the demon world has changed. She wouldn't even let me do the eulogy. She doesn't eat with us and she barely speaks to anyone. She just holes up in her room." My mother laughed lightly, the musical sound causing me to quiet, just to listen.

"You're right about that." She laughed, "But you're wrong about a few things. She wasn't allowed to let me do the eulogy." My temper flared but mother raised her hand. "One human, little old me, giving an emotional speech in front of a large group of demons? I would be booed off the stage, or worse killed. Or worse, Kii would have lost control and tried to defend my honor. I'm not going to fight against that logic and cause an uproar. Not at my best friends funeral. The funeral of Kii's mother and father mind you. She may be a demon, but with a mother whose best friend was a human, she can't be as cold hearted as you think." I sighed and lowered my head.

"I'm really in the wrong about this huh? About Kii?"

"Seems like it, for the most part. You can't be a hypocrite honey, its not healthy for the soul." My mom stood and brushed her fingers in my hair once more. "You're still young honey, and we all make mistakes. Its okay. Just recognize them and try and make peace." She smiled and turned to leave.

"Hey mom," I called.

"Yes?" she said, her hand on the door knob.

"I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart." The door closed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I sat in my room, the mother-daughter moment bringing the gleam of tears to my eyes. 'Kagome is pretty alright.' I thought, looking around my unpacked room in the dark. 'One of them is missing though…' I went out of my room and down the stairs, looking around the house this time as I went. 'Its so… normal here.'

My hands found the doorknob and there stood Grand- Pa, exactly where I heard him. "Hello." I said bowing slightly, "Could you tell me where that old looking trunk is that came with my things?"

"Uhh, yes. It should be in the shed behind the house, where we put all the aged artifacts." He replied, "Would you like help finding it, its rather dark."

"Thanks but I think I've got it." I said smiling as I walked away toward the back of the house. My footsteps seemed to pick up once the shed was in sight and it took everything in me not to rip off the door when I got there. When I did however, there it was, my trunk, the family crest lying on top of the lock, a great dog with an ancient shield, the family tree large on the shield, seeming to grow off of it in its miniature form.

I sighed as I pulled the trunk open, the musk of age clinging to the contents of the trunk. I breathed in the scent, old comforts bringing me peace of mind. I lifted out the shield and sword, placing them gingerly on the floor next to me. Next, I lifted out the armor of my great great grandfather, a gift to him from the Great Leader. I sighed and laid it next to me as well. Then I reached down and grabbed the plaques with my mother and fathers names on them. I then pulled up the racks in the trunks and put together a makeshift place to honor my ancestors and my mother and father.

As I was putting the last touches on the objects the door behind me opened. I stood and turned as Kagome entered the shed. She waved sheepishly.

"Hi…" I waited. "I heard you ask Grand-Pa where your things were…. Is that armor from the feudal era? I've seen it before, its really similar to the armor that Sess- "

"Is there something you would like to say? I really don't like small talk."

"Ah, well, actually… I want to apologize. I'm really sorry for treating you the way I have been. I guess you can say I saw a threat and I over reacted. How am I to compare you so someone else when I don't even know you?" I sighed and smiled. She smiled back sheepishly.

"Its okay. And you're right, I have yet to even say thank you to Akitsu for having so much patience with me. I have been quite rude. And I apologize." I bowed deeply. "We all have some growing up to do." I stood upright and gestured toward the relics. "Want a closer look?"

"Sure." She responded._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"So you're telling me, that about 500 years ago, the 'Great Leader' led the demons out of chaos after the death of the 'Great Evil One' and into new society where they life side by side with humans but undercover because demons are thought to have disappeared after the 'Purification' period of demon history?" I said as we sat side-by-side cleaning the armor of her great grandfather… or was it great great?

"Yup."

"But there is no historical records of the names of the main players?"

"None. Crazy right? They say it was out of respect for their power that they weren't named. And there is no record of the Great Leaders death, but outside of a few of the elder demons, which aren't allowed to speak his name, no one knows what his name is. Not even the descendents of his second in command." She said enthusiastically. Her excitement spilled over and I got excited about it in turn. "They say that the Great Leader is still alive, but that his face hasn't been seen for over almost 500 years. A great heart break is supposedly the cause." She continued

"No way." I said shaking her head. "No way a demon, especially the Great Leader, would ever be heart broken."

"I said the same thing. No demon would follow someone like that." She sighed, "Never. You can be happy if you dare in the Demon Society, but heartbroken to the point of hermitship; Never."

"So your parents? They were happy?" I asked softly. She smiled.

"Yeah, they were. As happy as two people could be." She shook her head as tears began to fall in steady even streams down her face. My heart went out to her. After tonight, I wouldn't know what to do without my mother. I placed my hand on her should, if only to show her that she wasn't alone. Her clawed hand covered mine. "Thanks."

"No problem. I am… truly sorry for your loss. You, your family, were such amazing people…"

"They were murdered." She said, her hand leaving mine to rest on her shoulder. "In cold blood. IDSU is investigating, but I don't think they'll find him. They were so… peaceful. Like they didn't care that they were going to die. And their bodies, there was no struggle. It was almost like their souls were just… taken." She shook her head, my hand falling from her shoulder. "I just… I don't believe they would go down without a fight. Without knowing what's coming. The fact that some one could sneak up on the two of them only tells me that the killer… will never be found."

"Kii, you have to have faith. In your parents and in the people looking for the killer. They'll find him. I just know it." I watched as she crawled over to the large chest and reached inside, grabbing a necklace from the bottom, and putting it on. The necklace was very simple chain, from which hung a yellow stone, inlaid in a silver sun. In that instant, her demon markings disappeared and her aura was muted.

"My father gave this to me as a early birthday present… It's a masking pendant. This is what makes me think he must've known. At the same time," she looked up at me. "I just don't understand. Why them? Why?" Tears began to run unrestrained down her face. I knelt and held her close. "I'm so afraid. What if they come after me?" I quieted her tears and rubbed her back as she sobbed silently into my shoulder.

"Let's go to bed." I said after she calmed down some. "Think about this! Tomorrow, you'll be having your first day of school, and its your last year in school! I'm sure your parents would want you to be happy and use this chance to the fullest. And hey, at least you're not going to school with those mean demons, you get a chance at a new beginning. You get to start over." Kii sniffled and wiped her face then stood determination shining in her eyes.

"You're right. A new beginning."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I am SO SORRY to EVERYONE who had to wait FOREVER for this update. I'm a horrible person and feel free to get on my case about updating, not to mention this doc isn't properly line broken... *sigh* This felt like a filler chapter lol but its funny and cute and somber all the same. I hope you enjoyed it! Look for updates!

~audaciousness


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